Though originally scheduled to open a week prior, Owner Clyde Dosenberry said he made the decision to delay the opening to preserve the ice cream shop.

“I don’t have heat in my building and I was afraid to turn the water lines on,” he said. “They might freeze.”

While he contemplated waiting another week to open, he decided to go ahead and open anyway.

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Many customers were anxious for the store to open.

Mt. Pleasant resident Mary Olrich said her family had stopped by a week ago.

“We were here, and the sign had changed,” she said, laughing. “(It) had changed to April 5.”

It is the first time in Doozie’s history that there has been snowfall during the opening weekend, but about five or six years ago, Mt. Pleasant was hit with six inches of snow about two weeks after the store opened.

Dosenberry said preparing the store for opening weekend is a two-week process.

Equipment needs to be brought into the store, cleaned and sanitized. Water lines and heaters need to be checked, Dosenberry said, and walls are cleaned and repainted.

Menu boards are changed and staff members are hired and trained, or re-trained if they are returning from the previous year.

Supplies are ordered as well.

Dosenberry said he ordered a few new equipment pieces for the summer, but left out a few menu items, such as Mackinac Island Fudge, during the initial ordering.

Because shipments come in about once a week, Dosenberry said all menu items will be available in a week.

New menu items for the summer include a salted caramel skinny dip, some new hard ice cream flavors and two or three new arctic swirl flavors.

“I get a little more relaxed after the first couple of weeks here, kind of getting everything in place,” Dosenberry said.

Despite the chilly temperatures, Dosenberry said Doozie’s had long lines for its Wednesday and Thursday free cones.

Shepherd residents Lynn and Fred Wilson stopped at Doozie’s on Saturday when returning home from Midland.

“This is just the place to be,” Lynn Wilson said.

Lynn said the two come to Doozie’s several times a year, despite the distance.

She decided to try an Almond Joy swirl, and Fred Wilson had a Reese swirl.

While Lynn and Fred usually try new things on the Doozie’s menu, Olrich sticks to her staple, the turtle sundae.

Olrich said her family was out of town for the earlier part of the weekend, but stopped at Doozie’s as soon as they were back in town on Saturday.

“We knew that it was opening soon, so we wanted to come as soon as we could,” Olrich’s daughter, Brenna Olrich said.

Mary said the family comes to Doozie’s a couple times a week in the summer, which, as Brenna said, is “never too much.”

Randi Shaffer can be reached at 989-779-6059, rshaffer@michigannewspapers.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/randi.shaffer

About the Author

Randi Shaffer has been the Isabella County reporter for the Morning Sun since 2012. An alumna of CMU, she is in the process of obtaining her MSA degree. Obsessions include hockey, yoga and vegetables. Reach the author at rshaffer@michigannewspapers.com
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